War and natural disasters overshadow the US of 2020 and 13 year old Louisa’s parents decide to send her and her best friend Maddie to an expensive boarding school for their safety. Louisa loves the survival skills she learns at CMS, but one of her new roommates is suspicious of the school’s leaders, especially when they effectively cut off the students from the outside world. Does the school really have their best interests at heart?
BEHIND THE GATES makes an excellent dystopian "gateway" book for younger readers, though it may well be too simplistic for seasoned fans of the genre. We never find out much about the world of 2020, and the girls conversations tend to be fairly basic and full! of! exclamation! marks!
While it’s clear that something’s off about the school, there’s nothing really that creepy about it until the cool plot twist at the end when we finally find out the nefarious truth. I’m definitely looking forward to the next books in the series.
Zombie chickens say: If they take all your electronics away, you know something fishy is going on ...
Book 1 BEHIND THE GATES – available in paperback now
Book 2 RUN FOR COVER – available in paperback now
Book 3 WITH THE ENEMY – available Sept 1, 2011
Book 4 SET ME FREE – available Nov 1, 2011
Find out more about the series at the publisher's website.
Song for the Ultimate Dystopian Playlist: The Lakes of Canada by The Innocence Mission. Sample lyric: "My little mouth, my winter lungs. Don't tell what cannot be done."
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